


Monkey Bars Without The Monkeys

by BleuSarcelle



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Meeting the Parents, Mutual Pining, Thace is Keith's Dad, Thace is an Police Officer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-24 10:05:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9716810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BleuSarcelle/pseuds/BleuSarcelle
Summary: “I got caught up with something,” Thace hums, taking a right turn when Lance quietly tells him to do so.“Doing what? Something cool?”“If you count saving a teenager from being stuck on a monkey bar in the east neighborhood's playground as cool, then yes.”“Lame,” his son declares and Thace ignores Lance’s offended yelp. “Is he cute, at least?”Thace arches an eyebrow at the question before he shrugs. “Hey, kiddo, are you cute?” he asks over his shoulder, humming when hears Lance moving to lean forward from his seat.“I would like to believe so, sir.”[Or the one where Keith's the son of a police offer and asks by pure chance if the boy his dad 'arrested' that night is cute enough for his gay ass. Spoiler alert: he is.]





	

**Author's Note:**

> Alright! So, this is a very old fic I did two years ago, kind of? And I thought it was good to re-write, being pretty simple and silly itself, I didn't see why not.
> 
> I remember I wrote this after a really bad day, and it was pretty entertaining, hope you enjoy it as well as I did! Also, it's based on that Tumblr post I saw a loooooooong time ago and I won't find ever again, but I'm sure most of you have seen it.
> 
> Disclaimer: Voltron doesn’t belong to me.

Thace’s job is interesting, to say the least.

The teen stuck on the monkey bars in the neighborhood’s playground must have come to a similar conclusion as his own.

“Why, hello there, Officer! Such a beautiful night, Imma right?” Thace arches an eyebrow at the brunet’s words, making sure to keep his lips in a tight line.

“Want to explain yourself, young man?” Thace asks slowly, arms crossed over his chest as he stares down at the teen’s eyes.

The innocent smile on the teen’s lips fall and then he groans in defeat. “It’s kinda a long story?” the teen says hopefully, letting his head to hang back so he could catch the officer’s gaze.

Thace’s lip twitches in amusement. “Son, it doesn't look like you’re going anywhere just yet,” he says, pointing with his chin at the tangled mess of limbs Lance currently is as he hangs upside down from the monkey bars. “You have time.”

“Fine, fine! Storytime: I have assholes friends and I can’t resist a bet,” the teen says, accepting his fate.

Thace blinks as he tilts his head in confusion. “That was shorter than expected.”

“I mean, I can tell you how it came to be? It all started at lunch when I told Pidge she couldn't reach the bars, right?” the teen rambles casually, his limb movements limited and yet not being an obstacle for him to try and move his hands along with the story. “Because she’s like super short, but then she was like ‘screw you, Lance’ and I was like ‘wow, little lady, ask me for dinner first -”

“Okay, alright, story time won’t be necessary,” Thace cuts in firmly but not unkindly. “I’m guessing you lost the bet, whatever it was? Uh, Lance, was it?”

The teen nods. “Yeah, my pleasure. Also, what gave it away? The way I’m stuck on a children's monkey bar in the middle of the night hanging upside down?”

Thace nods. “Doesn’t take a detective.”

Lance pouts, blinking innocently at the officer. “Which is why I ask you, Mr. Officer: haven’t I been through enough already? My poor fragile soul may not live this humiliation down! God, my poor mother’s heart when she hears about her handsome favorite boy being in jail!”

“Yeah, that sounds like a bad trip, kiddo.”

Lance smiles. “Does that means I can go with just a warning?” he asks hopefully, dragging his words to convey innocence. It makes Thace chuckle.

“No, but it was a nice try.”

“What if I say you have an awesome hat?”

“No.”

“Awesome tie?”

“Nah.”

“Awesome gun?”

“Don’t look at my gun.”

“Awesome knife?”

“Don’t look at my knife.”

“I ran out of things to compliment then,” Lance huffs, pursing his lips in defeat. Thace shakes his head with a quiet chuckle before he steps forward.

“Alright, come on, let’s get you down from there first,” Thace says as he looks around the mess of limbs, thinking for the best way to untangle them. “And then maybe, _maybe_ , I will let you go with just a warning.”

Lance’s face brightens up at the news. “Really!?”

“Yes but I am dropping personally back at your house and I want a quick talk with your parents.”

Lance’s face falls, mouth hanging wide open in betrayal. “Mr. Officer, I thought we bonded!”

Thace’s grin takes a teasing edge. “Just get _down_ from there, Lance.”

“Okay, the thing is that I would love to, believe me, I would,” Lance says, his own hands going up and down as he talks and grimacing when he hears something pop somewhere. “Ow - anyways, like I was saying, I would love to, but uh, I think one of my wrists is pretty roughed up?”

“Okay?” Thace says slowly. “That’s alright, I have a first aid kit in the car.”

“Awesome, incredible, really,” Lance rambles, biting down his lower lip. “Thanks for that, but I was uh, wondering if, ya know, if it isn’t that much of a trouble…”

“Kid, leaving you is sounding tempting with each passing second.” Thace deadpans and Lance sighs.

“Ugh, fine! But if I fall and break something, I’m doing an official complaint,” Lance threatens without real intent. Thace waves a hand at him offhandedly.

“That’s alright. Now, come on, I will catch you, okay?”

“Fine,” Lance mumbles before he huff and starts moving around, yelping in discomfort and pain whenever he pulls at the wrong limb. Somewhere around the third yelp, Thace takes pity on him and steps forward to help him, carefully re-arranging the long limb so they can slip past the other and hang free from the bars.

All that is left is Lance’s head and his right leg. Thace’s mind had already come up with the best way to untangle them both before Lance grunts in impatience and pulls abruptly.

Thace huff when he falls on his butt with the heavyweight of Lance’s entire body on top of him. The officer grunts in discomfort as Lance’s elbow starts digging on his stomach.

“Uh, thanks for the cushion?” Lance laughs weakly, offering a sheepish smile. Thace stares flatly at him.

“Get off me, Lance.”

“Right, right, yep, yep, hear that, I’m on it, yep, sorry.”

It doesn’t take long before both of them are in Thace’s car. What _takes_ a while is getting Lance’s _right_ home address.

“I mean, can you blame me? I moved here just a few weeks ago!” Lance defends himself, crossing his arms as he leans back in his seat.

“Don’t you have your address write down? For this exact situations?” Thace asks incredulous and sighs when Lance shakes his head.

“I’m a teen! I have my phone!”

“Phone with no battery. That’s really helpful.”

“Okay, but if it _had_ , it _would_ be super helpful.”

Thace rolls his eyes, mind already set on calling the station so that maybe one of his fellow cops could dig out the teen’s address when his own cell phone comes to life.

His eyes look at the digital screen next to the wheel and he smiles as he reads the name of the contact. He presses a few quick buttons on the wheel before he answers.

“Hey, kiddo,” Thace greets in the air, both hands still on the wheel as he drives. “You at home?”

 _“It’s midnight, dad; where else would I be?” h_ is son the other side of the call replies dryly but the words make Thace to grin wider.

“One can never be too sure, son,” Thace says as he looks at Lance through the mirror and snorts when Lance shrugs his shoulders with a toothy smile. “Why’re you even awake? It’s a school night.”

_“I was doing homework.”_

“Try again.”

_“I was studying.”_

“One more.”

_“Fine! I was watching youtube for conspiracies theories!”_

“There you go,” Thace mumbles, grin growing when he hears Lance snicker in the backseat. “Alright, enough Mothman, go to bed.”

 _“I should say the same to you,”_ his son snorts. _“Didn’t your shift end at twelve?”_

“I got caught up with something,” Thace hums, taking a right turn when Lance quietly tells him to do so.

_“Doing what? Something cool?”_

“If you count saving a teenager from being stuck on a monkey bar in the east neighborhood's playground as cool, then yes.”

 _“Lame,”_ His son declares and Thace ignores Lance’s offended yelp. _“Is he cute, at least?”_

Thace arches an eyebrow at the question before he shrugs. “Hey, kiddo, are you cute?” he asks over his shoulder, humming when hears Lance moving to lean forward from his seat.

“I would like to believe so, sir,” Lance answers shyly, pouting when Thace laughs. “Hey! I have fragile esteem!”

“There’s your answer, son.” Thace chuckles, giving Lance a smile as an apology.

 _“He sounds dumb,”_ His son laughs on the line. _“But...he has a nice voice, I will give him that.”_

“Hey now, no fraternizing with criminals,” Thace jokes, smiling proudly when both teens laugh. “But seriously, go to bed, I will be home in less than an hour.”

 _“Fine, fine,”_ the teen on the other line grumbles. _“I will hold you to that. Also, your dinner is in the microwave.”_

“Noted, thank you, son.”

_“Welcome, dad. Stay safe.”_

“You too, bye.”

He hangs up, welcoming the silence in the car once more with a content sigh before he hears Lance coughing awkwardly behind him.

“So, uh, is _your_ son cute?”

It takes them a few more minutes than anticipated to get Lance’s home, especially when Thace had to pull over so he wouldn’t crash for laughing too hard.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Thace can’t say he’s surprised if he’s being honest with himself.

It wasn't even his assignment to go investigate the alert on the ‘disturbed’ playground on the east side of town, but somehow, he _knew_.

Thace arrives fairly quick to the scene, blinking confused when instead of one tangled body on the monkey bars set, there are _two_. He quietly makes his way towards the playground, amusement growing in his face when he sees that neither teenager has noticed him yet.

At least, not until he clears his throat and glares down at them for the show.

“Evening, gentlemen,” Thace greets once two pairs of eyes focus on him. He tries not to look too pleased when they groan in embarrassment. “Such a beautiful night, isn’t it?”

“Oh boy, I’m having flashbacks,” Lance groans as he hangs his head in defeat and waves his hand weakly at the adult. “Hi, Officer Thace.”

“Hi, Lance. Can’t say it’s good to see you under these circumstances, _again_.”

“Hurtful, I lasted three months being out of trouble.”

Thace chuckles and waves him off, eyes falling on the teen next to Lance and tapping his foot as he waits for the teen to meet his gaze.

The black haired teen gives up five seconds later, groaning in embarrassment as he looks up and stares up at Thace. “Hi, dad.”

Thace grins back at him. “Hi, son.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Lance chokes out, looking between the two of them with wide eyes. “I’m sorry but what the actual _heck_ ? Keith, you sneaky _shit_.”

“What?” Keith asks offended, arching an eyebrow at Lance as he purses his lips.

“You didn’t tell me your dad was Officer Thace!” Lance shouts, one of his hands moving awkwardly from where it’s stuck on, trying to reach his companion next to him and slap him. “I didn’t even know he was a cop!”

“Uh, okay? Lance, this is my dad; he’s a cop,” Keith says in a flat tone, yelping in pain when the brunet manages to kick him on the ankle. “Ow, you _ass_.”

“Alright, break it off, you two.” Thace sighs, spanning his fingers to get their attention. “How this happened?”

“It’s all Keith’s fault!”

“What? No, it wasn’t! You were the one who antagonized Pidge - !”

“Yeah, because _you_ antagonized _me_ first!”

“That makes no sense - !”

“Boys!” Thace cuts in abruptly. “Listen, it’s late and a school night, I want to know the entire story once we’re on our way to Lance’s house - “

“Aw, come _on_.”

Thace ignores him. “But first, I need to ask you both a really important question. It’s your duty, as citizens and teens in trouble, to answer truthfully, are we clear?”

Both teenagers share a look before they nod slowly.

Thace nods back at them. “Do you find the other cute? After all, you _both_ did ask a few months ago.”

Thace waits a few more seconds for the words to sink inside the teens’ mind before there’s a shout of realization along with surprised gasps and then he grins.

“Oh, oh no,” Keith whines as he hangs his head, trying to hide the raging blush that slowly starts spreading over his cheeks. He has no such advantage on his red ears. “No, no, out of all the teenagers in this town, you had to have _him_ that _one_ time!”

“Oh! Ooh, it was you on the phone!” Lance shouts, cheeks equally red as he rambles. “Dude, that’s so random, what the fu -”

“Language.” Thace cuts in distracted, too entrained by the scene playing out before him.

“I’m not talking about this,” Keith declares as he tries to wiggle his way out of the monkey bars somehow with little success. “Lance, _move_.”

“Alright, alright, calm down,” Thace says, waving both of his hands down to ease his son’s embarrassment.

“Yes,” Lance says then, quick and sudden.

Both father and son blink at the statement, staring down at the brunet with a blank expression before Lance clears his throat and tries again.

“The, uh, the answer to your question,” Lance says quietly as he shifts on his place and huffing when he goes nowhere. “He, uh, Keith’s cute.”

Lance shrugs, pointing with his head at the teen next to him as best as he could upside down and beams playfully when Keith turns into a tomato.

“ _Lance,_ ” Keith hisses in annoyance but the blush on his face tattle-tells on him. “Lance, you moron, we’ve been dating for a month now.”

“Yeah, so? What, I can’t say I thought my boyfriend was cute before he became my boyfriend? Hurtful, babe.”

“Oh my god, _Lance_.”

“Boyfriend? _Oh!_ Oh, so _this_ is Lance?” Thace says in surprise, hand on his hip as he smirks and nods at the brunet. “I have been telling Keith to bring his boyfriend home for weeks now. It’s good to finally meet you, Lance.”

“Likewise, Mr. Kogane.” Lance beams proudly, doing an awkward finger gun at the officer that earns him a chuckle.

“Both of you are so embarrassing, leave me here to die,” Keith sighs, glaring at his boyfriend when the brunet tries to poke him on the cheek to get his attention. “Stop that.”

“It’s okay son, I approve of this boy.” Thace laughs, eyes narrowing playfully as he addresses his son. “I always knew you like bad guys.“

“Oh ho ho, _does_ he, now? - _Ow!_ Babe, was that kick necessary? What’s - _Ow!_ That’s it, Mr. Kogane, take him away!”

 

 

* * *

 

 

It takes a few years.

Thace saved the memory for a _long_ time. He never told it, not to his co-workers at the station, or to his family during Christmas, not even when he got invited to the McClains for the first time for dinner.

He saved it for the right moment, to share it with the right people.

And today, he’s ready.

“Family and friends, thank you all for coming and show your support for these two young men before me on this special day,” Thace says happily as he holds the microphone close to his chest with his right hand and his glass of wine on his left. “I’m Thace, father of one of the grooms - yes, the groom that looks like the grumpy cat human reincarnation, hah, kidding - and today I’ve something to share with you all.”

“Oh, no.” Thace hears faintly a few feet from him, his grin growing when he sees Keith’s horrified expression behind the main table. “Oh, no. Dad, don’t you dare - !”

“You see,” Thace continues, ignoring his son’s warnings. “Back when they were teens, I didn’t meet Lance as these two say; over Thursday movie night three months into their relationship.”

“Nope, this is not happening - Lance, let go of my waist, _right now_.”

“Psh, I’m _just_ hugging my new husband.”

_“Lance.”_

“No, ladies and gentlemen!” Thace laughs warmly from his place in the middle of the dancefloor. “By then I had met Lance _twice_. How so, you ask?”

“How so?” Keith’s best friend shouts among the crowd, making the crowd laugh.

“Thanks for asking, Shiro,” Thace chuckles along. “Let me tell you, it began one late night at the beginning of their sophomore year, which I also call ‘the day Keith pinned for his future boyfriend without him knowing’ -”

“Oh my _god_.”

“Yes! Yes, thank you, Mr. Kogane! That’s what I have been saying this entire time!”

“Lance, you traitor! I want a divorce, _right now._ ”

Thace snickers quietly under his breath as he takes a sip from his glass. “So, it goes like this…”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! <3
> 
> Here’s my tumblr, just in case: [bleusarcelle](http://bleusarcelle.tumblr.com)  
> AND my writing tumblr for small drabbles I don't post here: [bleusarcellewrites](http://bleusarcellewrites.tumblr.com)


End file.
